At the age of 35, after Germany’s defeat to Spain in the EURO 2024 quarter-finals, Toni Kroos played his ultimate game as a professional football player. He made the decision to retire months earlier, although the impression is that he could have performed more at the highest level. This way, he retired as a Champions League winner with Real Madrid for the sixth time in his career, including one title with Bayern Munich.Many wanted to persuade him to change his mind, but Kroos was firm in his decisions. In an interview with the Spanish Marca – his first after the retirement – he revealed to whom it had been hardest to tell that his career was over.”It was harder to tell my eldest son, because I knew how much he enjoyed watching me on TV and at the stadium. He’s experienced a lot, he’s been in four Champions League finals and as a child he’s never going to forget it! It was hard for my son, yes… He was used to seeing dad down there on the pitch, going to the stadium… And it was hard for me to tell Carlo, because he expected me to stay and because we had and still have a very good relationship. He was my first coach here and it wasn’t easy to tell him, but everything in life has an end,” Kroos said.🗣 Toni Kroos: “The most difficult thing was telling Ancelotti and my son, that I was retiring.” @marca pic.twitter.com/QgVjcA4kx3— Madrid Xtra (@MadridXtra) October 21, 2024 The German had a lump in his throat when he had to “have a talk” with Carlo Ancelotti.”It wasn’t easy. I knew that Ancelotti wouldn’t be angry, but that he would be a bit sad. It wasn’t an easy moment for me either, because something that had been very special was coming to an end. I tried to choose a good moment, an easy moment… And I was lucky that we won La Liga by a margin and I said ‘now!’ Because there was the perfect time between LaLiga and the Champions League final. It would have been more difficult if we were playing for La Liga, because I didn’t want this issue to be above everything else,” the 34-year-old stated.Toni Kroos’ lesson on ‘not crying over spilt milk’The way he spoke to the boss and family, Toni talked to his teammates – more precisely, to each of them individually.”I did it one by one, because with some I had been with them for a short time, with others longer, with others I had a very close relationship… And I wanted to inform them all personally. But I didn’t inform them all at once. I didn’t want the news to hit a website or a newspaper first and I did it all in one or two days,” disclosed Kroos, remembering the relationship with his “locker-room brothers,” who accepted him for who he was.”I went to team dinners a couple of times in the first few years. You’re the new guy and you don’t want to draw attention to yourself. But then… My teammates knew me very well and they knew that it wasn’t disrespectful, it’s just that I don’t like going out at night. Some like it more, others less… I told them: “I love you, really, but you go to your dinners alone .” And they understood. And in the end, when there was dinner they didn’t even ask me, because they already knew the answer. They’ve been spectacular teammates, with whom I’ve shared ten years and many things. And with the latest ones to come too, like Jude, Aurelién or Camavinga. They’re very good lads and the last few years in terms of the locker room have been some of the best. The locker room is incredible,” claimed he.Danke, Toni!Once he started talking about the past, Kroos’ memories kept flooding back as he recalled the time he arrived in Madrid ten years ago. “Everything has been special from the first minute . I arrived in the year that Madrid won the Champions League, in 2014, and that is not easy. The team had been very successful without me and it is not easy to prove that I was needed in this team, but from the first moment they showed me that they wanted me here. And I am talking about everyone: the club, the coaching staff and the fans. This gave me a lot of confidence and that is what I say in life, this is about giving and receiving,” Toni said, specifically emphasizing the support he received from Ancelotti – who invited him to join Los Blancos in the first place – and the entire club.”I remember that Carlo called me when I was at the World Cup in Germany and said: ‘I want you here at Madrid’. And I said to him: ‘Me too, but you’ve just won the Champions League. Are you sure?’ And he told me that he wanted me here, that I was going to improve the team… and that gave me great confidence before I arrived. And I started differently, with a title in my first game. And there was not a moment in ten years when I thought about leaving. And this can never be planned, because you can want to be here for life and at some point you may not be wanted or you may not be renewed, but that didn’t happen either. The best thing is that the relationship has never changed and that not even in the bad times has the club doubted me,” Kroos said.🗣 Toni Kroos: “I remember when Carlo Ancelotti first called me, it was during the World Cup 2014. He told me ‘I want you here in Madrid’. I said ‘Me too! But you just won the Champions League, why do you need me?’. He continued with ‘No, no, I want you here, you will make my… pic.twitter.com/hbSzfOfL0P— Madrid Xtra (@MadridXtra) October 21, 2024 The German did not hide that many tried to persuade him to change his mind and keep playing, despite knowing deep down inside that it was impossible, once again, taking Carletto as an example.”The good thing is that in these ten years everyone knows me very well. And they know that if I make a well thought out decision, there is no turning back. The manager told me: ‘You are German and there is nothing I can do, right?’ They tried to convince me, but they knew it was not going to happen. I explained to them that I had been making the decision for a few months and that I was not going to change it. It was a very good talk, but it was not easy,” the six-time Champions League winner asserted.Kroos’ last pass at the BernabéuAs one of the most important things, Kroos pointed out the fact that he proved to the fans that he kept his word. “I think that the fans have realised that words count for something. And this is something that is not normal these days. There are many who say that they are going to retire here and they don’t do it, for whatever reason, I don’t criticise them. The fans realised that my word counted and I said six years ago that I was going to retire at Madrid and I have kept my word. And if you do that, the fans appreciate it and they have seen that I truly love Madrid. The fans have felt that my word counts,” Toni argued. 🗣 Toni Kroos: “My farewell at the Bernabéu… I will keep it inside my heart forever.” @marca pic.twitter.com/rKJJyeb58a— Madrid Xtra (@MadridXtra) October 21, 2024 Finally, as the moment he’d never forget, he highlighted one particular – the last time he wore Real’s jersey, on May 25, at Santiago Bernabeu against Betis.”It’s difficult to choose but the farewell will always be in my heart. The day of Betis, with LaLiga won, was very special, because I felt that that day 85,000 people went to the Bernabéu to see me, to say goodbye. It was a very beautiful moment, simple, but from the heart. I haven’t seen the moment replayed, but I have seen some footage and it was impressive. What I’m saying is, I’ve won a lot, a title in my first game and another in my last, but I’ll always carry that moment in my heart,” Kroos concluded.UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE – ROUND 3Tuesday19:45: (1.45) AC Milan (4.40) Club Brugge (7.25)19:45: (1.40) Monaco (5.30) Crvena Zvezda (8.00)22:00: (1.10) Arsenal (11.0) Shakhtar (18.0)22:00: (1.62) Aston Villa (3.80) Bologna (5.80)22:00: (1.20) Girona (8.00) Slovan B. (14.0)22:00: (1.87) Juventus (3.50) Stuttgart (4.20)22:00: (1.45) PSG (4.50) PSV (7.00)22:00: (1.50) Real Madrid (4.40) Dortmund (6.50)22:00: (8.00) Sturm (4.70) Sporting (1.40)Wednesday19:45: (1.45) Atalanta (4.50) Celtic (7.00)19:45: (6.25) Brest (4.70) Leverkusen (1.48)22:00: (1.53) Atl.Madrid (4.00) Lille (6.75)22:00: (2.40) Barcelona (3.60) Bayern (2.80)22:00: (1.62) Benfica (3.90) Feyenoord (5.60)22:00: (1.07) Man.City (13.0) Sparta Praha (25.0)22:00: (4.00) RB Leipzig (3.60) Liverpool (1.90)22:00: (1.75) Salzburg (3.60) Dinamo Zagreb (4.90)22:00: (8.00) Young Boys (4.70) Inter Milan (1.40)***odds are subject to change***
